Still Holding

By

Tim Annett

Updated Oct. 25, 2006 5:04 p.m. ET

The Federal Reserve, as expected, left interest rates unchanged and its closely scrutinized statement largely devoid of surprises, as policy makers eye the sails and keep a firm hand on the tiller through a crucial economic strait.

The Fed's policy-setting Open Market Committee held the federal-funds rate, charged on overnight loans between banks, at 5.25% for the third meeting in a row, just as nearly everyone though would happen. But if the headline read like yesterday's news, there were some subtle shifts in the central...